The office within the Department of Justice that typically advises the White House on legal actions, including executive orders, was unable to confirm that it had reviewed the executive orders issued by President Trump in recent days.
According to an NPR report, published Friday, the Department of Justice said “no comment” when asked whether its Office of Legal Counsel had reviewed the recent orders. As the report noted, the office’s own website says that executive orders issued by the president “are reviewed by the Office of Legal Counsel for form and legality, as are various other matters that require the President’s formal approval.”
NPR added that there were some cases — such as in matters of sensitive national security issues — where the Obama administration bypassed getting the advice of DOJ’s Office of Legal Counsel. However, a former Obama-era DOJ spokesperson pointed out on Twitter that the “longstanding practice” of both Democratic and Republican administrations is to have the office “review all executive orders for legality before they are issued.”
Hmm. OLC is supposed to review all executive orders for legality before they are issued. Longstanding practice under admins of both parties. https://t.co/p2bAb4zMJT
— Matthew Miller (@matthewamiller) January 27, 2017
